Lakshya Sen advanced to the semifinals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament, defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in forty minutes. According to ThePrint, the eighth seed now faces Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan, a world No. 10. The publication noted that Sen has lost both his previous meetings with the Indonesian player. Sen, currently ranked thirteenth globally, requires a top-eight finish in the BWF World Tour standings to qualify for the season-ending event in China. He leads the standings with 64,980 points. The Indian controlled the first game after breaking early, while the second saw him convert match points after Tanaka made errors. ThePrint reported that Sen’s victory keeps India represented in the latter stages of the competition.
Kidambi Srikanth was eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan’s Koki Watanabe, 22-24, 15-21. ThePrint stated that the World No. 31 struggled with consistency despite holding leads. Srikanth had previously defeated fifth seed Kodai Naraoka on Thursday. In Friday’s match, the opening game was tight, but Srikanth led 12-5 in the second before a series of unforced errors shifted momentum. Watanabe won sixteen of the final nineteen points to secure the win. ThePrint highlighted that the Japanese shuttler had won sixteen of the last nineteen points to seal the contest. This result ends Srikanth’s run at the Super 500 event.
ThePrint detailed that Srikanth, a 2021 World Championships silver medallist, had beaten Watanabe twice previously. Their past encounters were closely fought, and Friday’s match followed a similar pattern. Srikanth built a six-point cushion at the interval in the second game but saw Watanabe close the gap. The Indian then suffered a collapse, hitting shots wide and long. Watanabe capitalized on these mistakes, earning six match points to win. The publication noted that Srikanth has shown strong form this season, including a US Open final appearance and a China Masters quarterfinal run in September. ThePrint’s coverage focused on the contrasting outcomes for the two Indian shuttlers.